Washington has become known as the town where nothing gets done. But Congress on Nov. 5 approved a bipartisan $1.2-trillion infrastructure bill that lawmakers say will expand access to high-speed internet, rebuild old roads and bridges and create networks of electric car charging stations. Biden is scheduled to sign the bill Monday during a ceremony at the White House.
Southern California’s largest urban water district declared a drought emergency on Tuesday and called for local water suppliers to immediately cut the use of water from the State Water Project.
The resolution passed by the board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California calls on people across the region to step up conservation efforts, but also focuses especially on six water agencies that rely heavily or entirely on the water-starved State Water Project.
Around the U.S., cities are increasingly warming to an idea that once induced gags: Sterilize wastewater from toilets, sinks and factories, and eventually pipe it back into homes and businesses as tap water.
In the Los Angeles area, plans to recycle wastewater for drinking are moving along with little fanfare just two decades after similar efforts in the city sparked such a backlash they had to be abandoned. The practice, which must meet federal drinking water standards, has been adopted in several places around the country, including nearby Orange County.
Rain and gusty winds are coming to Northern California with precipitation in Sacramento expected to start as soon as Monday evening. Sacramento can expect up to 1 inch of rain along with wind speeds between 30 to 35 mph starting Monday around 5 p.m. into Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office.
Another atmospheric river swept through the Bay Area this week, adding to what has been a wet start to the rainy season.
So how much did the second round of rain add to the state’s water supply?
Area canals in the Fresno Irrigation District have run dry but at some point during a wet year, a new recharge basin south of Fresno will be full of water.
“Most of the signs are pointing to another dry year, unfortunately, this year,” says Fresno Irrigation District General Manager Bill Stretch. “It could turn wet and if it does, we’ve got the infrastructure in place to capture those flood flows.”
The California Farm Bureau is applauding Congress for passing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commending the benefits it extends to local agriculture and rural communities.
The one trillion dollar plan passed by congress late Friday night is set to fund improvement projects across the country and projected to create some 2 million jobs.
The U.S. House Nov. 5 voted 228-206 to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that includes $8.3 billion dollars in water-related investments.
The package, HR 3684, includes investments in dams, waterways, flood prevention efforts, drought resilience, groundwater storage and conveyance, aquifer recharge projects and other water works.
States in the Colorado River Basin are adjusting to the reality that their rights outstrip the available water by nearly one-third, state and tribal leaders told a congressional panel last month.
The situation is likely only to worsen as the climate changes, leaving states and tribes in competition for their most vital resource.
Hamish Prince, an intern at CW3E (studying at the University of Wisconsin), recently published a paper (Prince et al., 2021) in Geophysical Research Letters along with co-authors from CW3E and JPL including Peter Gibson (now at NIWA, New Zealand), Mike DeFlorio, Thomas Corringham, Alison Cobb, Bin Guan, Marty Ralph, and Duane Waliser. This study contributes to the goals of CW3E’s 2019-2024 Strategic Plan to support Atmospheric River (AR) Research and Applications by furthering our understanding of AR dynamics.
